Slot boards are commonly used for the support of shelves and bins displaying merchandise. Slot boards of the type with which this invention is concerned are typically made of wood with a plurality of vertically spaced horizontally extending slots or grooves. A slot board may be of any desired height and width or may be an entire wall, and the term "slot board" as used hereinafter refers to both slot boards and slot walls unless the context indicates otherwise.
The shelves and bins supported by a slot board are of many shapes and sizes and are typically, but not necessarily, made from a suitable plastic, such as acrylic. The shelves are connected to the slot board by one or more connectors known in the art as W-clips, which are W-shaped profiles. The bins are connected by one or more Z-clips or Z-shaped profiles. One leg of the appropriate W or Z shaped profile is bonded to the shelf or bin and the opposite leg of the profile is inserted in a selected groove in the slot board. The shelf is supported in any desired angular relation to the slot board, while the side of the bin to which the Z-clip is bonded extends at a desired angle to the slot board.
In the illustrated embodiments of the invention, the shelves are flat and the bins are cubical with an open top and four side walls rising from a bottom wall. Only one side of the bin is bonded to the Z-clip.
As known in the art, the shelves and bins are made in many different configurations. The improved connectors of this invention are usable with any shelf or bin that can be supported by a W-clip or Z-clip from a horizontal slot in a slot board.
All of the methods of bonding which have been heretofore used to affix the W-clips and Z-clips have been objectionable because the connection is not reliable, particularly when the shelves and bins are heavily laden. Failure of the clip or its connection results, of course, in the shelf or bin falling from the slot board and the spilling of its contents.
Most of the prior art profiles (W-clips and Z-clips) for connecting the shelves and bins to a slot board are made from plastic. Some of the plastic from which the prior art W-clips and Z-clips have been made is also subject to failure.
An attempt has been made to provide a stronger attachment of the W-clips to the shelves by using a sturdy plastic such as polycarbonate to make the W-clip and by adding a flange to the W-clip to form a channel in which one edge of the shelf is bonded. Another prior embodiment of the W-clip was made from metal with a channel for the shelf and one or more screws were used to hold the shelf in the channel of the metal W-clip. It strengthened the attachment of the W-clip to the shelf, but the cost of time, labor and materials needed to make the attachment with screws is economically unfeasible.